The subject invention relates generally to the art of air brushes or paint spray devices and, more particularly, to an apparatus for collecting paint and solvents that are discharged when cleaning such devices.
As is well known, air brushes use a compressed gas, such as air, to atomize and dispense liquids including inks, paints, and lacquers through a spray nozzle or tip. The flow of the spray is regulated by a manually operated needle valve. At the termination of a spraying operation, or when changing the liquid being dispensed, the air brush must be cleaned by flushing a suitable solvent through the brush supply tubes, needle valve, and spray nozzle. The solvent used for cleaning depends, of course, upon the particular type of paint or the fluid which was previously being sprayed. In any event, the solvent with entrained paint, pigments, and fluids exits from the spray nozzle and should preferably be captured for disposal rather than being dispensed into the ambient atmosphere.
In the past, absorbent rags, filters, and the like have sometimes been used for collecting the solvent discharge. Alternatively, various types of collection devices have been used with limited success. See, for example, the devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,606,776 and 4,934,393. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,776, the disclosed device uses vertically extending, horizontally spaced filters to trap or absorb the solvent discharge. The device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,393, on the other hand, uses a relatively complex arrangement of filters, negative pressure chambers, and condensers to collect the solvent.